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-If you are going to federate to MSN/Live are any users using a msn address that is the same as your Lync address will be? If so they must change their MSN/Live ID. Here is how.
-Do you have the certificates you need?
-Is your Active Directory Forest functional level 2003 or higher? (has to be Native mode)
-Install Exchange 2010 UM role
-Give Lync implementor AD user part of the "Organization Management" group
-If server2003 make sure server media accessible
Collect
-Company Name
-company City, State, Zip

Things to do when done:
-add user who wants to administrator CSAdministrator group.
-document DNS A records
-document SRV records

Just discovered a very cool feature of Lync when you are making a phone call: The ability to copy and paste DTMF digits! Thats right, you are calling for support and they want you to dial that 12 digit support code they emailed you?! Well, with Lync client you can just copy it out of the email and paste in into the Lync client dial pad (shown above) and it will create the need DTMF codes!

I know this is just a small thing, but the many "small things" are what make life go smooth. I would say a major competitive advantage Lync has are the many, small pleasant surprises its brings.

According to presenters at TechEd 2011 NZ a little Q&A yeilds this info:

Q-Will it do voice/video?
A-"It will dependent device and OS level on that...it will obviously be enabled at some point in time..."

Q-Will Lync mobile be integrated into WindowsPhone hubs?
A-"the goal is to get everything into the hubs..."

Q-When will wp7 lync client be here?
A-"Calendar Q4"

Q-I think-- I heard presenter say in answer to question Will skype be integrated into hubs?
A-"I can't say that... but remember i just said we want everthing in hubs...we need to wait on aquisition to complete..."

I know if I talk to Polycom they say that the Aries series is now the executive level phone but considering that the Aries does not have touch screen, doesn't have simple finger login and sports a smaller screen it still seemed like there should be a true executive/power user phone in the Lync Phone Edition line.

I also became aware that Microsoft replaced about 1,000 Tanjay series phones with "a model they have been developing" according to a source. (they may have wires crossed)

I'm curious, anyone else have any updates on what Polycom is doing with the Polycom CX700 update? If so, please comment.

I noticed that visual voicemail and call history was not showing on Lync clients in my Lync lab. After kicking around and reading I realized I missed a very simple thing in my Exchange server configuration: Adding the autodiscover SRV record.

All you need to do is add the above SRV record in your DNS pointing at your Exchange Server FQDN. Here are the details of how your DSN SRV record should look like:
Service = _autodiscover
Protocol = _tcp
Host offering service = your exchange server FQDN. Our example: 2008-AD.xyz.com. (note our AD server has exchange 2010 colocated on it!)

Now close and restart your Lync client. You may need to wait a half a minute or so until magically your call history and visual voicemail will show up!

To ensure that your autodiscover is set correctly you can check at the Lync client level by opening the "Lync Configuration Information" window. You open this seriously handy window by holding the CRTL key while right clicking on the Lync icon in the system tray. Then click on the new menu item "Configuration Information". You will see a window like below:

I've been wondering how Lync will work over mobile data plan and finally got a moment to do some tests. On this blog I'll share some notes from my testing of Lync over our Virgin Mobile MIFI unit.
The quality is not perfect but usable.
People I called said it was better than cell phone quality.
I would occasionally get Lync poor signal message.
Perhaps a squawk here and there.
Bear in mind that we are in Lancaster County Pennsylvania (definitely not a metro ;-)
Presence and IM will be NO problem.

I'm curious what your experience with Lync over mobile data plan has been?

PS-I just got a Zoom MIFI that works with AT&T and will need to test it there as well.

PSS-Jasco has done some analysis of Lync over high latency satellite connections. You might want to read their report here.

A new blog called "The Whole '9' Yards!!" is focused entirely on snom m9 DECT phone stuff. I'm not sure specifically who the author is but they mention they are an employee of snom. Perhaps the snom product manager? Not sure that is correct because it says location is Wolburn. Who is the secret writer? ;-)

One of the challenges with Lync Server is that if the Active Directory password changes this needs to be changed in the handset/deskphone for that user as well. Desk phone hardware that uses Lync Phone Edition (like Polycom and Aastra) has several methods of addressing this issue. If you are using the "Better Together" USB tether on Lync Phone Edition it will pop up a notice on the PC to enter the credentials.

Phone makers that are using their own firmware do not have this option. Jan Boguslawski, OCS edition product manager at snom, does a good job of covering in this post some of the authentication methods that can be used with Lync.
snom has released a small Windows tray app that runs on the PC to assist with updating the snom handset registration password when Active Directory password changes. You can get it below.
See snom KB/Wiki Article and Download App Below:http://wiki.snomone.com/index.php?title=The_snom_password_application

The 3CX Blog has done a very nice article that takes you step by step through Microsoft Exchange 2010 UM integration to you IP PBX. Exchange UM adds incredible voice recognition to your auto attendents and voicemail. It also makes accessing your voicemail, contacts and calendar via a mere phone an easy task.

I've already wondered what stops working when the the Lync Server Domain Controller is shut down underneath a Lync implementation. Of course no adding or changing users, but what else? In my lab I decided to just shut down the Domain Controller and check! Here are my findings.

I've been soo busy with Microsoft Lync that I'll admit I have missed some important news from the 3CX world--so here is an update!

Kerry Garrison has written the official book on 3CX and he recently has updated it to include version 10. He notes on the official 3CX blog that there are 30 more pages and it some other improvements along with new features of v10 of course. The price is $24.99 so it is certainly affordable and you can order it here. Congratulations Kerry on the new edition!

3CX has also released a new CRM integration module that integrates Salesforce, SugarCRM, Microsoft Dynamics CRM or Sage Act! to the 3CX IP Phone system. This new integration has a 30day trial but it costs a one time fee of $50USD. Considering that previous 3CX clients were free it would indicate that this integration is more mature and enterprise in nature although I have not tested it. There is also an API for the CRM integration but it is noted there is no support for the API.

I just tested the Damaka client (it is called as "Xync", really difficult to find on Android market, use Damaka as the second word in the query, otherwise you will never find it)

My experience is mixed:
- it really supports VoIP and Video (I suppose the official Microsoft Lync client for mobile will never have this feature, so this is a huge pro)
- also supports Enterprise Voice in both directions!

However:
- needs very powerful hardware, with a very recent Android OS: 2.3.3
- the pricing seems a little bit high compared to the average price of Android apps
- voice quality is acceptable for Lync-to-Lync calls, but not so good for Enterprise voice (I experienced quite bad echo, I can clearly hear all my speech back with a 1,5-second delay)
- UI needs some more work, with more configurable settings

You have installed Lync Server and now a client or device is acting up. How do you get insight into what is happening with SIP traffic on your Lync Server? The "Lync Server Logging Tool" and "Snooper" are your freinds. (I mean serious freinds ;-) To get going goto your Lync Server click on Start | Microsoft Lync Server | Lync Server Logging Tool.

I've been noticing some rumblings of a possible new interoperabiilty certification called "3PIP" for Microsoft Lync. Matteo Nemeth, of Polycom, noted in a LinkIn conversation that the Polycom SoundPoint IP endpoints will be certified as "3PIP interoperability certification" with the new 4.1 firmware.

Also 3PIP documents were noted on presenter Kirk Gregersons PC while he was demonstrating the Lync Customer and Partner Experience snap in for Lync at WPC 2011. (a screenshot of video shown below)

This new certification seems to be aimed at vendors bringing their existing SIP endpoints to a Lync interoperable state.

Neal Hubman from AltiGen gave me a heads up that his company is releasing a product to bring Microsoft Lync to mobile devices. From perusing the brochure he included it looks like this is a server based, scalable solution (150,000 users) that connects most major mobile devices to Lync. It also looks like it will provide voice/media to mobile devices over GSM/CDMA or WIFI via g.711 or g.729. Currently my understanding is that Microsoft's official mobile Lync client (photos) to be released later this year will not include the voice stream but other vendors, such as Damaka, (photos) are working on mobile Lync client to do voice and video wirelessly as well.

I'm not sure all what the AltiGen product will bring to Lync & WindowsPhone7/Android and the others but this product may possibly become less interesting later this year when the official WP7, Android and iOS Lync clients are released by Microsoft.

Note: I've requested but not recieved ballpark pricing on this product.

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About Me

Matthew M. Landis has various industry certifications: Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, Microsoft Certified Database Administrator, Microsoft Office Certified Expert, Microsoft Certified Dynamics, Network+ and A+.
In 1995 Matt started Landis Computer which has been providing IT services to small businesses for 14 years and is now a 11 person Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. Matt has over 14 years of field experience implementing Windows Server, Microsoft & Dynamics ERP solutions in small business environments.
Matt is very active in the Windows based IP PBX community: He was a 3CX Valued Professional from 2008-2010 and has co-authored a book on Windows communication software "3CX IP PBX Tutorial". He is pbxnsip Certified, he has contributed thousands of posts to the 3CX community forum and he writes the monthly Windows PBX Report e-newsletter for VARS and administrators. His company, Landis Computer, was the first company in the USA to be designated a 3CX Premium Partner.
When not working and when a chance affords Matt likes to travel internationally with his wife Rosalyn and is very involved in his church.